Loop transferring instrument for knitting machines



Patented Aug. 11, 1942 starts PATENT omcs L001 TRANSFERRING INSTRUMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES Henr Harold Holmes and Albert Henrywidd'owson, LeicestenEn'gland, assig'nois to Wil'dt and Company Limited, Leicester, England, a com.- pany of "Great Britain Application January 3, 1941, Serial No. 373,024 -In Great Britain February 13, 1940 Claims. (Cl. 66- 95) This invention, relatesto looptransf erring instruments for use in the production of knitted fabric on knitting machines, both circular and flat, and has for its object to provide an improved instrument of this character for the transference of loops from the needles of one needle bed to those of the other needle bed during the production of knitted fabric.

The purpose of the improved instrument is to effect the expansion of a loop to be transferred more particularly at or near the portions of the sides of the loop, remote from the needle or instrument on which the said loop is held, that is to say the back of the loop, in order to counteract any tendency of the loop to close by the drawing together of the sides when the loop is engaged preparatory to being transferred, the idea being to bring the sides of the loop into parallel relation, or substantiallyso, ormore or less square with the rounded portion of the loop and, by thus causing the loop to assume a more open or laterally spread formation than usual, facilitate penetration thereof by the needle or instrument to which it is to be transferred.

A particular illustrative embodiment of the invention as applied to a knitting needle of the latch type suitable for transference of needle wale loops to adjacent needle wales of knitted fabric will now be described.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a side 'view of only so much of said needle as is necessary to illustrate the application of the invention thereto,

Figures 2 and 3 are front and rear edges views of the same, and

Figure 4 is a detail transverse sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 1 and also gives a general impression of the manner in which a loop is spread or expanded by the needle.

Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawing.

The transferring needle shown is pressed from sheet steel and comprises a stem I, a yarn engaging hook 2 and a slotted swell 3 in which a latch 4 is pivotally mounted. Just beyond the position occupied by the tip of the latch 4 (when the latter is opened as indicated in Figures 1 and '2), the stem l is provided with a loop spreading or expanding formation 5. This formation is constituted by a bow or swell formed by working the material of the stem I "laterally at the back edge la at thelocation indicated so that the bow or swell is most pronounced atthe said edge and diminishes crosswise of the stem towards the front edge lb. In effect, the loop spreading or expanding formation 5 thus produced is of a generally concave-convex character, and the central portion thereof in cross section extends obliquely across thestem I by reason of the fact that itdiminishes towards thefront edge lb of the latter as shown in Figure 4. The concave side 5a of the bow or swell may be suflicient to guide the operative end or extremity of a -coopera-ting loop receiving needle or instrument, such as the dial needle represented at 6 in Figure 4, into an expanded or spread loop Z on the transferring needle. If desired, however, the said concave side So may be grooved or recessed transversely of the stem I to provide a guiding formation for this purposathe groove or recess gradually increasing in depth towards the rear edge I of the stem. For example, and as shown more clearly in Figure 1, a recess or groove 1 of parabolic form similar to that described in the specification of co-pending application Serial No. 302,433, filed November 1, 1939, now Patent No. 2,249,080, may be provided. A loop arresting catch or shoulder 8 is formed'atthe front edge lb of the stem substantially midway or thereabouts between the terminal ends of the bow or swell 5. As depicted in Figure 4, this catch or shoulder is turned or bent slightly sideways, in the opposite direction to the loop spreading bow or swell 5 so as to bring it into alignment obliquely with the obliquely disposed transverse section of the bow or swell. The upper edge of the catch or shoulder 8 is slightly downwardly inclined to facilitate retention of a loop such as l engaged thereby.

The loop spreading or expandingformation 5 may be formed as the result of a twisting action on the stem. For example the latter may be held rigidly clamped longitudinally at pointsfore and aft of the location at which the said formation is required, and intermediate material of "the stem I may then be engaged by a suitable tool adapted toturn about a centre sodisposed in relation to the width of the stem that when the tool is turned on the said centre the back portion of the stem is deformed suchwise as to produce'a bow or swell of the diminishing character desired. Such "an operation produces a loop spreading or expanding formation of a nicely curved and smooth character eminently suitable for the intended purpose. Alternatively, the said formation may be produced by a stamping, pressing or swaging action.

Aportion a of the needle from the loop penetrating end, i. e. from the hook 2, is madenarrower than the remainder (see Figure 1) and the loop spreading or expanding formation 5 and the shoulder 8 are located at or about the juncture of these different portions of the stem, which latter, as regards the wide part, is made somewhat wider than usual (at least at this locality) in order to enhance the prominence of the loop spreading or expanding part.

A loop penetrated by the needle just described is received on the formation 5 and thereby expanded when said needle, in action, is moved endwise beyond the latch clearing position. Thus, in Figure 4, the loop Z is shown in an expanded condition, the expansion being more pronounced at the portions Z of the sides of the loop. The said sides are consequently brought more or less square with the initially rounded portion 2 so that the loop assumes a more open or laterally spread formation than usual to facilitate penetration thereof by the dial needle 6 to which it is to be transferred. At the stage of the transferring operation illustrated in Figure 4, the transferring cylinder needle has been raised to trans fer height and deflected laterally in the direction of the arrow to bring the expanded cylinder loop 1 into alignment with the receiving dial needle 6. Moreover, the dial needle is shown just entering the loop I.

The catch or shoulder 8 may, instead of being turned slightly sideways, be formed in alignment with the normally straight front edge of the stem l.

The needle may alternatively be made of wire, in which instance a part of the stem may be made wider than the remainder thereof to provide material for the loop spreading or expanding part :and the loop retaining catch or shoulder.

Although primarily applicable to a latch needle, the present invention may be applied to :a bearded needle, in which instance the loop spreading or expanding part would be preferably provided just beyond the position occupied Eby the tip of the beard, so that a loop penetrated by such a needle is received on the loop spread- 'ing or expanding part and thereby expanded when the needle is moved endwise beyond the beard clearing position.

The improved needle or instrument may however be of a form adapted to elfect the transfer of sinker loops from one wale to another of knitted fabric.

In respects other than the loop spreading or expanding formation the improved needle or instrument may be generally of the form, i. e., as regards lateral flexibility and the provision of a butt or two or more butts thereon for operating the same regularly or selectively according to requirements, and serve the purpose described in the aforesaid prior specification.

Needles or instruments made according to the present invention are intended for use especially in knitting machines of the kind having two needle beds wherein the needles in one bed are moved transversely to those in the other bed, and while in this latter connection the invention is mainly intended for application to circular knitting machines of the cylinder and dial type, it should not be regarded as limited in this respect since it may also be applied, for instance, to fiat knitting machines the two needle beds of which are inclined relatively to each other. As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, it is principally the intention to use loop transferring needles of the improved form hereinbefore described in a cylinder and dial type of machine in which the cylinder needles are disposed at right angles or substantially so to the dial needles, although such needles are also suitable for use in cylinder and dial machines wherein the cylinder or the dial is of conical form. In this connection said needles or instruments may be arranged and operated in any of the ways described in the aforementioned prior specification.

What we claim then is:

1. For use in a knitting machine, a loop transferring instrument comprising a stem which is shaped at one side only suchwise as to produce at the back edge but not at the front edge thereof a loop spreading formation the terminal ends of which are both integrally united with the stem, the said formation being adapted to expand a loop received thereon by deforming the adjacent side of the loop and thereby widening the loop, for the purpose herein specified.

2. For use in a knitting machine, a loop transierring instrument comprising a stem the front edge of which is normally straight, said stem being provided at one side and the back edge only with a loop spreading formation which extends transversely across said stem towards the normally straight front edge thereof and is adapted to expand a loop received thereon by deforming the adjacent side of the loop and thereby widening the loop, for the purpose herein specified.

3. For use in a knitting machine, a loop transferring instrument comprising a stem which is shaped at one side only suchwise as to produce at the back edge but not at the front edge thereof a bowed loop spreading formation which is most pronounced at said back edge and diminishes in the direction of the front edge, said formation being adapted to expand a loop received thereon by deforming the adjacent side of the loop and thereby widening the loop, for the purpose herein specified.

4. For use in a knitting machine, a loop transferring instrument comprising a stem which is shaped at one side only suchwise as to produce at the back edge but not at the front edge thereof a loop spreading formation adapted to expand a loop received thereon by deforming the adjacent side of the loop and thereby widening the loop, and a loop arresting shoulder which is provided on the front edge of the stem adjacent to the aforesaid loop spreading formation, forthe purpose herein specified.

5. For use in a knitting machine, a knitting needle for transference of needle wale loops to adjacent needle wales of knitted fabric, comprising a stem, a yarn engaging hook at one end of said stem, a pivoted latch adjacent to said hook, a loop spreading swell of a concavo-convex character located just beyond the position occupied by the tip of the latch when the latter is opened, which swell bulges from one side only of the stem at the back edge thereof and diminishes crosswise of the stem towards the front edge, said swell being adapted to expand a loop received thereon by deforming the adjacent side of the loop and the concave side of the swell being recessed transversely to provide a guiding formation to receive the operative extremity of a co-operating loop receiving instrument, and a loop arresting shoulder which is provided on the front edge of the stem adjacent to the loop spreading swell, all for the purposes herein specified.

HENRY HAROLD HOLMES. ALBERT HENRY WIDDOWSON. 

